Compromise over Tea
by Ryth76
Summary: Katara tries to talk a cold Gaara into teaching Aang earthbending, even though he insists he doesn't know how. Gaara/Katara, Gaatara. Incomplete. MIGHT REWRITE.


**A/N: Wow, look at that. It's a crossover pairing my favorite Naruto character with my second least favorite Avatar character. *twitch* (what was I thinking??) Just for the record, when Gaara's insulting Katara, it's NOT bashing. Not only do I suspect Gaara could be slightly chauvinistic when it comes to women (thus Temari's apparent attraction to Shikamaru) , but he was also insulting at times in the Naruto series and said to be arrogant and self-centered even after getting his butt kicked by Naruto, at least before Shippuuden. I also imagine to a shinobi, the bending nations would seem rather backwater. Especially with the difference in how the two cultures handle war. Lastly, Gaara is in denial about his attraction to her.**

**Ugh! I wish the underline thing for the title would stick for once!****  
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**Compromise over Tea**

"I'm sorry." The red haired boy known as Sabaku no Gaara screwed the large cork into the gourd strapped to his back and straightened stiffly. He gave the dark-skinned girl a cool look. "I can't teach your friend."

Her blue eyes narrowed and her tattered dress – equally blue – swished as she strode forward toward him. "What? But we don't have much time!" He could hear her teeth grinding and her posture was foolishly aggressive. She didn't know how lucky she was that she had met him now and not before.

Gaara answered, "Not my problem."

He turned away, only for a hand to grab his shoulder. Katara insisted, "Listen! Aang needs a earthbending teacher and you're really strong. It'll only be temporary. You can teach him the basic principles, and then we'll be on our way."

"Except I don't know the basic principles of earth bending," he answered flatly, turning to look back at her.

Katara's mouth dropped and she withdrew her hand quickly. She rubbed her hand as though burned. "What do you mean? How can you not know?"

Were all the people born during the hundred-years war born under a rock? "I'm not from Si Guomen. I'm from the Shinobi lands in the far east." He wanted to comment further on how superior the abilities of the shinobi were to the benders, but held his tongue. It was considered bad policy to share techniques when an ambitious person like the Fire Lord presented a potential risk.

Katara's eyes glazed over and Gaara could tell his words met nothing to her. Under a rock, it was. "I don't see how that changes anything…"

"Shinobi are taught to control their inner energies and use them in ways you can't even imagine. Unlike you, we are not limited to one element and do not need to rely on an Avatar to save us from ourselves."

Katara snorted in disbelief. "I doubt that. I haven't even heard of shinobi."

"We still get missions from the Earth capital, the North Tribe, and the Fire Islands on rare occasions." He was aware he had gotten the names wrong, but didn't bother correcting and gave her a look daring her to call him on it.

Katara spun around, whipping her thick brown braid around so the tip brushed across his nose. It smelled… pleasant. Even with tattered clothes and on the run, the girl had time to make herself look pretty. Ridiculous.

"I'll think about it," he said thoughtlessly. "We'll have some tea and discuss it. Where is he right now?"

She shrugged and pretended to brush dirt from her top. "He's with my brother, shopping for new camping equipment. Our things were lost near Chin town."

Gaara blinked lazily. "Very well, we'll talk alone."

The waterbender followed the strange boy into a rundown tea shop. She grimaced at the sticky counters and broken furniture. "I could make our tea, you know."

Gaara ignored her and said to the shop owner, "Jasmine tea, please."

Katara chimed from behind him. "And one for me."

He conceded, "One for her, too," and handed the man some coins hesitantly. He didn't remember how the currency went in this country. It had been over three months since they had discussed it with him.

The shop owner counted out the coins with a frown. He spread out the small pile and picked out a gold coin with a perplexed look. "Sir? You only need to pay five copper pieces for a cup of tea…" He offered to give back the money.

Gaara lifted his hand to decline. "Keep it."

"We're not a charity," the shop owner grumbled. He turned away, muttering something about foreigners.

"We might need more tea later on," Gaara answered dryly. He led the stunned dark-skinned girl to one of the more secluded booths. Katara looked completely confused about whether he meant to give that much or if he really was a complete stranger to the bending nations' customs.

Her annoying hair loops swung from one side to the next as she began to talk. "If you don't know how to bend earth, how are you able to bend earth?"

Gaara gave a small cough. "I don't bend earth. I can bend sand, which is a combined element of earth and wind. I do not use earth or wind alone."

Katara turned her head so sharply he could hear the bones in her thin neck crack. "Wind? You mean, like air?"

Gaara nodded silently as the waiter poured their tea. He sipped the Jasmine tea and struggled not to retch. Perhaps he should've gone with the girl's offer to make the tea herself. "I guess this is one cup of tea he would've missed anyway," he muttered.

Brunette choked on her tea. "Ugh!" She pushed the cup away and hissed menacingly, "You said we would get more tea…"

He really had screwed up this time. Gaara glanced at the nearest window, nearly two booths away. Too far to save them from having to stomach the horrible tea. His gourd rumbled as his sand pushed against the cork as subtly as possible. "I'll take care of it."

The cock popped out and fell to the ground, freeing grains of sand which squirmed around overhead. He nudged the sand to create a thin rug under the table, checked to ensure the shop owner and waiters weren't looking, and… chucked his tea under the table.

Katara whispered with a knowing smirk, "What are you doing?"

"Dump your tea under the table," He informed her. "My sand will take care of it."

She grinned almost devilishly and spilled her tea under the table. The waiter came around with the steaming teapot to check on the customers' cups. He blinked in surprise to see the sand master and waterbender had already finished, but shrugged and poured them a second helping.

"Thanks. I don't think this stuff is safe," Katara remarked.

She stuck a finger into the slimy water gingerly. She moved to pour it into the sand as well, but Gaara said, "Do that too soon, and it will look suspicious."

Katara placed the tea cup back down. The thick dark liquid rippled lazily, but didn't splash. "Very well. Let's talk. If you can't teach Aang how to bend earth, why did you suggest we discuss it over tea?"

She had some wit about her after all. Gaara shrugged. "I don't know. It sounded like a good idea at the time to have some tea with you."

Katara blushed and stammered angrily, "Y-you're hitting on me!"

No, that wasn't it at all. Granted, she was rather pretty, but she was… not his type. Not his type at all. She had enough time to make herself look pretty when she could spend her time better by training or teaching her waterbending student. And, whenever she mentioned said student, she had an awed look in her eyes and a rather motherly expression. It made him sick and wish she would look the same way at him. "No, sorry. You aren't my type."

He really couldn't stand the mothering types. Katara gave a derisive laugh. "Really? Because I don't know any guy who would ask a girl out for tea to compromise, only to say he only did it for the fun of watching her drink flavored sewer water."

Gaara sighed. "I'm serious. I really don't know why I suggested talking over tea."

He looked over at her. She looked away from him with a childish pout, nearly dipping her hair into her cup. He reached across the table and grabbed it before the sweet smelling locks could be ruined. She turned her head in surprise. The move dragged her lips across his. A sharp jolt ran through Gaara. He cursed himself mentally for not using sand as he closed his eyes, enjoying the lingering warmth against his lips.

Yes, he didn't know why he asked this dumb brunette out to tea.

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**A/N: Si Guomen - an incorrect term for 'Four Nations.' What Gaara should have said is 'Si Ge Guo Men.' Thanks Aqua for the correction! ^_^**


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